Doaa El-Bey focuses on the return of President Hosni Mubarak and the conclusion of the Arab summit President Hosni Mubarak's recovery from a gall bladder operation in Germany and return to Egypt was the focus of front and inside pages in most of the newspapers this week. Al-Ahram wrote 'Mubarak's strong will facilitated his complete recovery', Al-Masry Al-Yom quoted an American newspaper that Mubarak's safe return will not stop speculation regarding the future of Egypt, Nahdet Masr headlined, 'Mubarak's safe return could boost stock market' and Al-Akhbar had 'Egyptians very happy and Mubarak in good health'. Alaa Abdel-Wahab started by thanking God for Mubarak's safe return but regarded this as an opportunity to reveal what is bothering the Egyptian citizen. The simple citizen, Abdel-Wahab wrote in the official daily Al-Akhbar, is shackled by soaring prices and is waiting for a raise that will not be followed by a further rise in prices. Men of letters are looking forward to a wider margin of democracy while children and youths hope their education will become a national project because, simply put, this is the only way for a better future for them and for Egypt. Mohamed Amin wrote that Mubarak had several files awaiting him, the first of which was the annual raise that the minister of finance this year put at seven per cent but left it to Mubarak to either leave it as it is or increase it. The other issue is related to the new Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayeb's membership in the ruling National Democratic Party. Although it is understood that the Al-Azhar sheikh should be above partisan allegiances, El-Tayeb preferred to leave the issue of resigning from the party to Mubarak as well. Other important issues include medical treatment at the state's expense. However, Amin added that all these pending issues indicated that, "in a state as big as Egypt nothing is achieved in the absence of the president. So how can we say that we have state institutions?" he asked in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the opposition Wafd Party. The Sirte Arab summit concluded this week by allocating half a million dollars to save Jerusalem and taking serious attempts to develop joint Arab work. The editorial of the official daily Al-Ahram said the annual Arab summit held special importance because of the situation that our nation is in at present, especially the continuing Israeli obstinacy of settlement construction in the West Bank, Judaising Jerusalem and avoiding any chance to revive the peace process, in addition to the regional projects of domination over the Middle East and their impact on Palestinian reconciliation, conditions in Iraq and the challenges of development facing our countries. That is why millions of Arab had hoped that the summit would come out with decisive and strong stands that focus on the higher interests of the Arab nation rather than the personal interests of each state. The most important step to save Jerusalem, according to the editorial, is Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas according to the basics stated in the Egyptian paper which defines the rights and duties of each party. Also, there are particular financial requirements that should be fulfilled to support Jerusalem, as Israel spends millions of dollars to Judaise Jerusalem. Thus the Palestinians need millions of dollars to protect their identity and deal with Israeli projects of this kind. "The Arab summit is not a goal in itself but an important tool to face the challenges which face the nation... and may be the near future will reveal the credibility of the summit's decisions and its role in solving the nation's problems," the edit read. The editorial of the official daily Al-Gomhuriya said the 22nd Arab summit was held in Sirte amid the Arab peoples' disappointment at the summit's inability to resolve crucial issues. Secretary- General of the Arab League Amr Moussa expressed the sentiment frankly when he said the Arab people are satiated by talk and are waiting for more action from the summit. That means, the edit added, that Arab leaders should start more practical moves to end the state of passive waiting which has wasted plenty of time. That amount of time was enough to recoup Arab forces and efforts to solve our problems without waiting for external aid or relying on the differences between external powers which are all against Arab rights especially in Palestine. The summit, which upholds peace as its strategic choice, has cards it could use to lead the peace process in the right and fair direction. That would be possible, the edit continued, if it has the will to make decisions and execute them, and also to differentiate between friends from enemies in order to support and solidify our forces in the real battlefield. Essam Kamel wrote that the periodic meetings of Arab leaders should not be called summit meetings. "We could call it a summit only if it is attended by representatives of Arab states who have the real power to take decisions that reflect the suffering, ambitions and hopes of the Arab peoples," he wrote in the daily Al-Ahrar, the mouthpiece of the opposition Ahrar Party. Samir Farid shed light on Muammar Gaddafi's suggestion to change the Arab League's name to the League of Arab Unity. He wrote that the Libyan proposal could have been possible if the union between the League's countries under the auspices of the Arab League had been achieved. But this proposal comes at a time when the Arab countries are competing over who will achieve Palestinian reconciliation or who will be the winner in the Palestinian division contest. Israel will be the only winner. Farid added in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom that it is said that the three main powers in the Middle East are Iran, Turkey and Israel though in fact, they are suffering from acute and chronic internal problems that they export to Arab countries. So, it would be better to support and reform the Arab League first before talking about changing its name.
